


anywhere you like

by formerlydf



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Public Sex, pre-OT5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-26
Updated: 2013-01-26
Packaged: 2017-11-26 22:54:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/655276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/formerlydf/pseuds/formerlydf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam's not entirely sure how she got to the point where sitting in a restaurant with her bandmates while Louis feels her up is more normal than not, but she can't exactly regret it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	anywhere you like

**Author's Note:**

> Written, more or less, for [this prompt](http://1dkinkmeme.livejournal.com/648.html?thread=288136#t288136) on the kinkmeme, although it ended up taking on a life of its own. I'm going to lay most of the blame for this on [daisysusan](http://archiveofourown.org/users/daisysusan/pseuds/daisysusan), who kept on prodding me until I actually finished writing it. Ten million thanks to [croissantkatie](http://archiveofourown.org/users/croissantkatie) for britpicking on such short notice!
> 
> Disclaimer: Really very entirely untrue, as you might be able to guess from the fact that Liam and Niall are not actually girls in real life. Title from "Kiss You," which turned out to be an astonishingly appropriate soundtrack, lyrically speaking.

It’s — sort of a game, honestly.

And that’s the absolute _worst_ explanation for it, because if they eventually get found out it’s not as if she’s going to be able to tell her mum and her sisters, “Sorry, I know I got photographed with Louis’s hand up my skirt in the middle of a bloody restaurant, of all places, but it’s this game we play, you see.” Liam has nightmares about that moment sometimes.

The problem is that she’s not entirely sure how else to describe it, because “Sometimes I let Louis feel me up in public places just for fun” isn’t exactly much better.

She wouldn’t even be able to explain how it started, because to be honest, she’s not entirely sure. That’s half the problem, really. She wants to say that it only began after they were dating, because anything else makes her sound a bit of a slag, and Louis definitely only got under her skirt after they got together. But what does “start” mean, anyway? Is it the first time they snuck out of a public place to go have a muffled shag in a storage cupboard or an empty bathroom? What about when they just snuck off to go snog in a corridor? And how public is public, anyway, does she have to count the times when they were just with the rest of the band and Louis would get his hand on her knee — and if _that_ counts, does she have to count the times when _Harry_ has had his hand on her knee? Or Niall, or Zayn?

Not that Harry having his hand on her knee ever leads to Liam cursing at a bathroom mirror while trying to do her hair back up, not like it does with Louis, but the point is that she probably wouldn’t be doing this in the first place if her bandmates hadn’t got her out of the habit of tensing up every time they went for a cuddle. She’d have inched away the second Louis’s fingertips grazed her inner thigh — not out of fear for her virtue, but just because she’d have had no idea what to _do_.

That’s what happened with her previous boyfriends, at least, not that any of them stayed around for very long.

But no, after spending her school years with friends who’d thought hugging more than once a week was dangerously touchy-feely, she’d somehow ended up in a band with three boys and one girl who didn’t understand the concept of personal space. Harry apparently wilted without physical contact, Niall didn’t get why anyone would care, and Louis was... Louis. Zayn had come the closest to getting it, and even he didn’t see much odd with reaching out and touching someone’s face in the middle of a conversation. After a while she’d barely cared about that; she was too busy being relieved that Louis didn’t try his signature nipple pinches on her or Niall. One of the perks of being a girl, she thought. Of course, the perks of being a girl didn’t extend quite far enough to protect them from the bum slaps, jabs to the kidneys, or lovebites that Louis apparently considered tokens of his affection and doled out to every single member of the band.

Scarily enough, after a few months she started to enjoy it. Not the jabs to the kidney, those were always awful, and it had taken her ages to get used to the way Harry’d apparently egged Niall into going up and grabbing Liam’s chest on stage, but she liked the cuddles. It was nice, petting Harry’s hair or wrapping an arm around Zayn’s waist or letting Niall nuzzle into her shoulder.

It was even nice with Louis, despite the constant threat of pinching — just because he avoided her chest didn’t mean the rest of her was off-limits, apparently — because she’d figured out eventually that if she just grabbed at him for long enough, he’d settle down and curl against her properly. He was always warm, anyway, and when he wasn’t fooling around he gave really excellent hugs. Liam was beginning to appreciate the technique involved in a good hug.

And so that was the start, maybe, except of course that wasn’t the start at all, because she’d started getting used to all the touching before she and Louis ever kissed for the first time. It’s just that she’s pretty sure getting used to all the touching is what kept her from flinching away the first time Louis’s hand ended up on her leg when they were in public.

Except that makes it sound so simple, like she became tactile and then she and Louis started dating and then all of a sudden they were at a restaurant or a bar or something and he was touching her knee, and she doesn’t remember it being that simple. It never felt that simple.

It felt like _want_ , even before she realised that she liked Louis as more than a friend, even during the three and a half days they spent pretending that kissing on the lounge sofa had just been an accident between mates. It felt confusing, and amazing, and a little bit terrifying because it hadn’t been like this with any of her old boyfriends, not ever. It’d been... nice. Not very interesting. Not very much in the way of PDA, either. Mostly they’d go see a movie and then neck or fumble around a bit on one of their beds until curfew, and then Liam would head home without really every minding or needing anything more.

But Louis would skim his fingers over the back of her neck and Liam would shiver and want to kiss him no matter what else they were supposed to be doing or who else was in the room. And that was a problem, really, because she’d got used to touching him pretty much all the time, and it was beginning to feel a bit like a gateway drug.

They’d tried to go slow. Honest. It was Louis’s idea, even, for all that Liam agreed; there was no use rushing into something that they were both so scared of fucking up, especially not when it would affect the band, as well. The band is the most important thing in Liam’s life, outside of her family. She’s not willing to let anything happen to it.

It was a good idea, in theory. The problem, though, was that touching Louis led to kissing Louis, which led to touching him more, and — well. When she’d got Louis shirtless and underneath her, his hands just grazing the clasp of her bra as he completely ruined what little composure she had left, going slow would have meant _stopping_.

Liam’s only human.

So there’d been... all of that — sex, alright, sex, she can say it, she’s not Harry with his twenty-five different words for ‘cock’ — there’d been that, and all of that constant wanting, and sometimes that had combined in interesting ways with the fact that they’d always been touching even before they started dating, and —

She’s pretty sure that the first few times, it was just them and the rest of the band. She’d probably remember it more if there’d been more people involved; as it is, the entire beginning of the sex part of their relationship is sort of a blur of trying to keep everything tamped down during interviews and shows, not letting herself meet Louis’s eyes because she knew it would make her giggle, or blush, or want to kiss him with warm cheeks and laughter trapped between the two of them. And there are really good reasons why she can’t do that, and she knows all of those reasons, but being able to spend time just the five of them was, is, such a _relief_. Harry, Zayn, and Niall have never minded, not really, even if they still pretend to complain about her and Louis kissing during movie night. Besides, they’re just as bad, in terms of unnecessary groping. She learned it from them in the first place, after all.

And so it’s maybe a little bit possible that when she finally let herself touch Louis without getting distracted by whether someone would comment on it and she’d get a million more twitter replies calling her a slut, she might have stopped caring enough to bother with embarrassment. The first few times Louis’s fingers traced up and down her spine, or across the inside of her elbow, or stroked the back of her knee, she grabbed his hand and ignored it, the way she did during interviews. After a while, though, she just started dragging him off to convenient bedrooms. Or bathrooms. Or bunks. Or anywhere else reasonably private, really.

They’ve been dating for a year already and the look on his face when she does that still hasn’t changed, like he never stops being just as amazed and delighted that she wants him as she is that he wants her too.

And that’s the thing, really, because she’s not an exhibitionist. The idea that someone not in her band might look over and see the way Louis is rucking her skirt up beneath the tablecloth isn’t exactly a turn-on. And she could tell him to stop at any time and he’d listen, but the fact that he wants her that much, so much he can’t even wait until they’re back at one of their flats, so much he’s focusing on her instead of the million other things that could be distracting him?

It’s a little dizzying, sometimes. It’d be dizzying even if she didn’t already want to kiss Louis pretty much every second of every day.

(Looking back, she thinks she made it sound like the idea of having someone in her band catch them _is _a turn on, which is — that is — well, it’s not what she meant to say, anyway. Er.)__

__But that was sort of the beginning of it, anyway, running off on group hang-out nights and then slipping back in later, curling up with Niall and Harry and Zayn in a glowing haze for the rest of the evening, a lovebite just starting to darken on her shoulder and Louis’s hair still messy from her fingers. And then from there it sort of... spread. So to speak._ _

__Essentially, what happens is that Louis will, somehow, wind her up in a public place, more or less subtly depending on where they are. The game is how long it takes before Liam snaps and drags him off to a storage closet._ _

__They’re not allowed to do it when Simon’s within five miles of the room, though, because he definitely _knew_ at that last party and they’d only been kissing but it was still one of the most mortifying things that’s ever happened to Liam, ever. And Louis’s never even tried to do it during a meet and greet, because he’s many things but as far as Liam’s aware he’s still actually sane. Otherwise, though — blowing against her neck when they’re crowded together at a bar, or rubbing her shoulders backstage, or whispering things in her ear when they’re sitting in the audience at the VMAs — it’s all essentially fair game. (Except the VMAs, that was absolutely not on.)_ _

__And that’s how she ended up here, sitting in a very public restaurant with all her bandmates while Louis’s hand slides up her thigh._ _

__The restaurant’s nice enough to have a tablecloth, thank god, or else Liam would’ve elbowed him off or stepped on his foot or something. Not that he would’ve started if they didn’t have a tablecloth keeping them mostly covered beneath the waist; Louis is absolutely mad but he does have a smidgen of propriety._ _

__Then again, he did once go down on her right before they went on stage, so perhaps Liam is overstating the case a bit._ _

__Right now his palm is just above her knee, which isn’t too bad; he’s barely even pushed up the hem of her skirt, and Liam’s never been a fan of the miniskirts Niall occasionally can be found in when she’s arsed to care. Niall’s got the legs for it. Louis and Harry insist that Liam does, too, but Liam doesn’t like sitting down and worrying that she’s going to flash everyone nearby._ _

__But this is fine, anyway. Even with his palm warm against her skin and his thumb brushing her knee, it’s not too hard to ignore his hand and go on eating her pasta. If he squeezes, she’ll be in trouble, but she’s told him that he’s absolutely not allowed to use his knowledge of her ticklish spots against her. Which means he does it all the time, of course._ _

__“Justin says we can stay at his place if we want to go to California to write,” Niall says, cutting into her piece of chicken. “He’s got loads of rooms.”_ _

__Louis drags the tips of his fingers higher up the inside of Liam’s thigh._ _

__“Are you sure?” Harry asks, looking innocent, which definitely means he’s about to say something terrible. “We wouldn’t want to interrupt your threesome with Selena.”_ _

__Niall punches him in the arm and laughs. Louis shifts his fingers so his nails are grazing Liam’s skin instead, not hard enough to really hurt, but leaving tingling, warm lines where they’d been. She’d left scratch marks all down his back last night, red marks that took ages to fade; when she’d seen them she’d been horrified, but Louis just grinned and told her he’d have his revenge eventually. She wonders if this is what he meant._ _

__“Is it a threesome this week?” Louis asks. “I can never keep track of whether Nialler’s a homewrecker or not.”_ _

__Just when Liam’s starting to feel like the scrape of Louis’s nails might be starting to get slightly more abrasive than she wants, he switches back to the pads of his fingers, tracing barely-there patterns over the scratches. It’s soothing and almost too much, her skin burning and sensitive, and if he tries to take his hand away she’s going to make a horrifically embarrassing noise, she can tell._ _

__Liam stabs more firmly at her pasta and tries not to shiver._ _

__“Hang on. I thought I was a lesbian this week,” Niall says._ _

__Louis’s worked his way up more quickly than usual, the side of his hand just brushing the edge of her knickers. Is he trying to beat his last record? Oh, that’s not fair; the last time they tried this, it’d been the first time they’d seen each other in a week. She’d dragged him off to Zayn’s guest room almost as soon as he touched her._ _

__Well, not this time. Louis grins when she sets down her fork, but Liam just takes a sip of water, determined to stay where she is. Across the table, Zayn raises his eyebrows._ _

__“No, I think I’m the lesbian this week,” Liam says, trying to prove to Louis that she’s still coherent enough to keep up with the conversation. Louis darts his fingers a few centimetres left, stroking her through the thin cotton._ _

__“Don’t be silly,” Louis says dismissively. “You’re obviously marrying Tom. Come on, Liam, the future of England depends on it.”_ _

__“I’m not sure how the future of England depends on me marrying Tom,” she says, her voice steady, and goes after her pasta again. She tries not to shift too obviously against Louis’s light, steady touch, which is one of the most frustrating things Liam has barely felt._ _

__“Genetics,” Harry informs her, picking up the thread effortlessly from Louis, like he always does. “Think of all the attractive, sporty, talented British children you’d have. It would inspire a nation.”_ _

__Liam is reasonably certain that if she broached the idea of marriage to Tom, it would inspire nothing but hysterical laughter on both their parts, but she pretends to consider the idea anyway. “Well, if it’s for England, I guess I’ll have to suffer,” she agrees calmly, and feels Louis’s thumb press into her upper thigh. She smiles sideways at him and laughs when he makes a face. “Good thing he’s well fit, I suppose. Shouldn’t be too awful.”_ _

__Louis’s fingers slip beneath the elastic of her knickers and Liam almost chokes on absolutely nothing at all._ _

__“All right?” Niall asks, although she doesn’t actually turn her head to look at Liam and see for herself. Instead she focuses on Zayn’s plate, across the circular table, which is — well, it’s a little odd, honestly, because Niall doesn’t usually eye other people’s food before she’s at least halfway done with her own. Harry’s too good at taking advantage of weak moments in order to steal everyone’s food. Then again, Liam supposes, Zayn is very distracting._ _

__She herself is almost distracted from what’s going on beneath the tablecloth, awareness limited to just the warm pressure of Louis’s hand, until he shifts his fingers further, and _oh_ , that’s — that’s — “Fine,” Liam says, managing just barely to keep from squeaking._ _

__“You sure, Liam?” Louis asks solicitously, because Louis is a bastard. A bastard who knows exactly the best ways to absolutely wreck Liam._ _

__They don’t usually get this far, is the thing; her pants typically stay where they are until she’s dragged him off somewhere more private. But Louis lives to up the ante, doesn’t he? Liam wonders why she was even surprised._ _

__It’s as good an excuse as any — say she’s not feeling great, excuse herself, and wait for Louis to pretend he’s worried and come to check on her. Niall, Harry, and Zayn would all _know_ , but it’s not like a bit of friendly teasing has hurt her and Louis so far._ _

__On the other hand, Louis would get smug at her, and Liam refuses to let him get too cocky._ _

__“I am completely sure,” she says firmly. She stabs at her pasta and tries not to tense up too obviously at the feather-light touches against her clit. “If Tom and I are breeding, does that mean that Niall and Justin are going to be making a popstar dynasty? Or does Niall need to go with someone inspirational and British, too?”_ _

__She’s not going to snap. She’s not going to snap. She’s absolutely not going to drag Louis back to the single-occupancy toilets that are coincidentally quite close to their semi-private dining room, and it’s all Louis’s fault that she even goes into restaurants and scouts out the best places to go for a quick shag. Although _someone_ needs to think about those things ahead of time, after the near-fiasco at the recording studios. They should have noticed that those shelves weren’t bolted in properly._ _

__“International cooperation,” Zayn suggests._ _

__“Mmm, sexy.” Harry pops a bit of tomato in his mouth and grins at Louis. “Foreign affairs?”_ _

__“Absolutely,” Louis says, grinning back, tracing circles around her clit before moving his fingers further down. He is the worst person Liam has ever met, without a doubt. Thank god they’re not on tour right now; Louis is coming back to hers as soon as they’ve paid the check._ _

__Niall snorts. “Don’t be daft, it’s got to be someone Irish.”_ _

__Louis slips just the tip of one finger inside her, barely anything, and Liam jerks and knocks her knee against Niall’s leg. Niall looks over and then immediately glances away again._ _

__“Definitely Irish,” Niall repeats quickly, and Liam, practically speaking over her, says, “Right, makes sense. You’ll be the pride of Ireland.”_ _

__“Leprechaun babies,” Louis says wisely. He slips his hand out of Liam’s pants. Liam may, possibly, whine just the faintest bit before she tries to disguise it by clearing her throat. “Sorry, did you say something, Liam?”_ _

__And then he reaches across her, grabs the bit of bread that came with her pasta, and pops it in his mouth. Liam only realises that she still had her fork in her hand when it clatters onto her plate._ _

__“What are you _doing_?” she asks, feeling a bit incredulous as she watches him suck crumbs off his fingers. Fingers that until a second ago were just —_ _

__“Sharing,” he says, and grins._ _

__Liam can feel herself flush all the way down to her chest. She wishes she could stop, but apparently even dating Louis hasn’t desensitized her to everything._ _

__“Are you two…” Zayn begins, and he frowns at her suspiciously. Liam tries to look as innocent, or at least as confused, as possible. She’s getting quite good at that, she thinks. Looking confused, at least. Whenever she purposefully tries to look innocent she thinks she always ends up looking rather guilty instead. Both Louis’s hands are above the table, though, so that’s got to be working in their favour._ _

__“You could share with the rest of us,” Harry says, doing something complicated with his eyebrows, and Niall snorts._ _

__“Don’t encourage him,” she says. Thankfully, that seems to be enough distraction for Zayn. It’s not like Liam hasn’t, well, known that the rest of them know; Louis isn’t exactly subtle when they’re not in public. Niall likes to throw popcorn at them sometimes on movie night. There’s just something different about it when Zayn is looking straight at her, like he could be paying attention. It makes her stomach jumpy. Not like she’s worried about him being mad or thinking less of her, just — jumpy._ _

__Louis slips his arm around her shoulders, and Liam wonders if that’s it for the evening. She’s not exactly going to let him put that hand back up her skirt, not when he got food on it. It’s not hygienic. “But I like encouraging Harry,” he says._ _

__“That’s why half the internet thinks you’re dating, mate,” Zayn says, which is true enough. Liam swears more people think Louis and Harry are shagging than they think that any of the boys in the band is dating any of the girls in the band. Maybe Liam and Niall are just really convincing at those _they’re like my brothers_ speeches they give during interviews._ _

__Louis leans closer, his mouth right behind her ear, and murmurs, “What would happen if I got you off right here?”_ _

__…And once again, Liam is hit over the head by just how much lying she does in interviews. Harry, Zayn, and Niall are saying something about Larry or Zirry or one of those other ridiculous names, but Liam can’t bring herself to pay attention; her entire world has narrowed to Louis’s arm around her shoulders and his breath against her neck._ _

__She turns her head far enough to hiss, “Are you serious?” at him, putting them about cheek to cheek. She’s extra glad they went to the trouble of booking one of the rooms farther back, now; at least the few neighbours they have seem more interested in each other than snapping photos on their phones._ _

__“I’m always serious,” Louis tells her, just as quietly as before. Liam turns her head front again and Louis grazes his lips against her ear as he pulls back. Zayn’s giving them another look from next to Louis, but Harry and Niall seem to be ignoring it._ _

__What if he — _right here_. At the table, in front of their bandmates? Where they could just — look under the table for a dropped napkin and see? Right now, no waiting, no making their excuses, no missing out on conversation, no —_ _

__She leans back towards Louis before she can think better of it and whispers, “I’d like to see you try.”_ _

__Louis’s grin, when she finally manages to look over, is as big as the sun. “I think Liam should date Niall,” he announces to the table, running his fingers up and down his water glass. Liam blinks, because what? Everyone else is nodding, though so it must have something to do with the conversation before Louis melted her brain. “I don’t think it’s fair, everybody assuming Simon’s trying to cover up Harry and me and not them.”_ _

__Louis is still leaning warm against her side, his arm around her shoulder, and then all of a sudden there are freezing-cold fingers pressed against her. Liam jumps before she can help it, slamming her knees together around Louis’s hand._ _

__“Alright, seriously —“ Zayn begins, and Liam hears a muffled thud under the table. Zayn turns to glare at Harry._ _

__“Zayn’s just jealous because nobody wants to be in a secret romance with him,” Harry says, and they exchange some sort of eyebrow signals between them, or something. Liam has no idea what that’s all about. Or, well, Liam’s worried she _does_ have an idea what that’s all about, but she’d really prefer if it wasn’t at all about what she’s worried it’s about._ _

__“It could be all three of us,” Liam suggests absently. Louis’s fingers are warming slowly against her, and she glares a little at his water glass, with his fingerprints against the condensation on the sides. Slowly she relaxes her thigh muscles enough for Louis to move his hand._ _

__“Sounds fun,” Niall says, as Louis drags his fingertips down again._ _

__“Sounds like loads of fun,” Harry agrees, his voice even more slow than usual. For some reason it makes his words sound more suggestive, like when he says _loads of fun_ he’s actually really just thinking about her, Zayn, and Niall having sex. “Can I come?”_ _

__Liam’s giggle turns into a cough when Louis starts pushing his fingers inside her again. He’s at a better angle this time, his right hand instead of his left; Liam wonders, a little, if this was his plan all along. Now he can curve his fingers in all the worst ways, with the tricks he’s developed over months and months of really fantastic sex in cramped spaces. Liam shifts slightly, letting her legs fall a little further apart._ _

__“It’s not exactly a secret threesome, then, is it?” Zayn asks for her._ _

__“Not fair to Louis, either,” Niall points out. “If it’s going to be more than a threesome, it might as well be all of us.”_ _

__Louis grins and wiggles his fingers a little deeper, brushing his thumb against Liam’s clit. It’s almost like a jolt of electricity in the way it makes her jerk forward, choking on her own gasp. She slams her elbows against the table accidentally, and all the glasses wobble. She’s not — she wishes abruptly that she’d dragged Louis to the bathroom after all, but she still wants to _be_ here, Niall to her left and Zayn frowning from Louis’s right, Harry smirking across the table. This is a night out for all of them, not a night out for her to ignore three of her bandmates just because she wants Louis to actually give her some more pressure, damn him, and it’s not like Liam ever gets sick of any of them. She spends more time with Harry, Zayn, and Niall than she does with anyone but Louis, and it still sometimes doesn’t seem like enough._ _

__She wants Louis to move his hand. She wants Niall to look at her. She wants to not gasp again, because that was a bit loud and now Harry and Zayn _are_ looking at her, and she knows she’s got to be blushing bright pink. She’s beginning to feel a bit overheated._ _

__“What do you think, Liam?” Harry asks. Liam tries to keep it together and stop her hips from jerking into Louis’s hand, but she’s pretty sure she’s failing at both. “Think there’s room for a few more?”_ _

__For a minute she’s not sure what he’s talking about. Louis has got two fingers in her now, but that can’t be it — oh, threesomes. Right. Sleeping with Niall and Zayn. Louis sleeping with Harry._ _

__“But then wouldn’t that just be the way we normally are?” she asks, moving her hands down to grip the edges of her chair. She focuses on her breathing for a second, trying to slow it down; when she looks up, Niall is staring straight at her. “What?”_ _

__“Nothing,” Niall says, jerking her gaze away, but when Louis curls his fingers forward and Liam hits her knee against Niall’s leg, Niall grabs Liam’s thigh and holds it in place._ _

__“Niall?” Zayn asks._ _

__Niall’s cheeks go faintly pink. “Shut it.”_ _

__“Yeah, Zayn, shut it,” Harry says, grinning. Niall keeps eating with her left hand, her right hand warm on Liam’s skin. Liam wonders what she’s going to do when she needs to use her knife again._ _

__Keeping her breathing normal becomes a lost cause when Louis finally starts to bear down with his thumb. At this point, all she can really do is trying to stop herself from making noise. She’s so close; she feels like they’ve been sitting there for hours already, talking about things she can only half-listen to. She can’t decide if she wants Louis to hurry up and finish already, or if she wants him to stretch it out for longer so she doesn’t have to worry about coming in front of her best mates._ _

__“Oi,” Louis scolds, not sounding particularly irate. “I thought this band was supposed to be about freedom! And letting everyone’s voices be heard! I’m disappointed in you lot, honestly. You’re making an unhealthy work environment for Zayn. Full of peer pressure, and everything.”_ _

__How can he manage to say all these things and still concentrate on keeping Liam on edge? He’s the most ridiculous multi-tasker Liam has ever met._ _

__Harry raises his eyebrows. “Are you quite finished?” He’s asking Louis — it’s the only thing that makes sense, conversationally — but he’s watching Liam, smiling a little around the corners of his mouth._ _

__“Yeah,” Louis says, “think I am,” and Harry winks just as Louis curls his fingers and sweeps across with his thumb. Liam closes her eyes and tries to fall apart as quietly as possible._ _

__There’s silence for a minute after, as Liam tries to recover, until finally Zayn says, “I think we should get the check.”_ _


End file.
